Among the
favourite
disciples of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
465.
Ten
years are assigned to Benignusj the imme-
diate predecessor of larlath ; and thus
Ussher goes back to A. D. 455. Benignus is
placed after Sen-Patrick. According to the
said Catalogue, this latter prelate governed Arectactus I. , Cudiniseus IV. , Connmacus for ten years, and thus we are brought to XIV. , Torpachus I. , Nuadus III. , Mac- A. D, 445. This is then the alleged year for longsechus XIII. , Artrigius II. , Eugenius the foundation of Armagh. All this might Monaster VIIL, F. laraniianus XIV. ,
do very well, did not the catalogue mention
Secundinus, as a predecessor of Sen- Patrick,
and holding the See for fifteen years, or, as
one of Ussher'3 copies had it, for six years. I. , Cathasacius XX. , Muredacius IX. , In Colgan's edition, Secundinus ruled xvi. Dub-daletha XXXIIL, Murecanus III. ,
years. Again, prior to Secundinus, St. Moel-murius XIX. , Amalgadius XXX. ,
Patrick himself presided over that metropo- litan See. To get rid of difficulties, pointed out. Dr. Lanigan maintains,—that neither
Dub-daletha XII. , Cumascacius III. , Moel- isa XXVIL, Domnaldus. " As the Cata- logue ends, with the latter Archbishop, who
a — ruled the See from A. D. Secundinus, nor Sen-Patrick personage 1092
to 1
whose existence he otherwise admitted gan thinks it must have been compiled were ever bishops of Armagh. The imme- within these dates, since the term of his in- diate predecessor of Benignus, he considers cumbency is not completed. Nor is the
to have been the great St. Patrick himself.
Dr. Lanigan agrees with him, as to Secun- dinus, and also as to Sen- Patrick ; not,
number of St. Patrick's years of rule de- termined, and this seems to show, that four of his vicar or "assistant bishops were under him, until his death, assigned to A. D. 493. He does not know, if the omission of dates, for the incumbency of other prelates, were the choice of the writer, or an error of tran-
however, for the purpose of propping any
hypothesis, but because he thinks, there was
no such person, distinct from our great
Apostle. Notwithstanding, some writer^
have imagined, that there was a distinct scribers. The numerals affixed designate personage so called. What then becomes the years of the preceding Archbishops' of the authority of that catalogue ? Ussher
is forced to acknowledge, it is wrong from its very beginning. How then can we de-
pend on its computation for the episcopal years of St. Benignus ? It must be recol- lected, likewise, that in the said catalogue there is no reference whatever to the
government in the See. 5^SeeHarris'Ware,vol. i. , "Bishopsof
years
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," "
p. 5. Also, Nicholson's Irish Historical Library," chap, ii. , p. 14, and Harris'
Ware, vol.
i. , chap, xii. , p. 90.
ii. ,
" Writers of book Ireland,"
53 Colgan has also published it, in his ""
TriasThaumaturga, SeptimaAppendix
lanus X. , Eochodius, Senachus. Maclasrius.
Tomenius XXXV. , Seginus XXVII. , Flan- niusebhla XXVII. , Subneus XV. , Congasa- sius XX. , Kele-petrius VII. , Ferdachricius X. , Foennelachus III. , Dubhdaletha XV. ,
Diermitius IV. , Fethgna XXII. , Anmirius I. , Cathasacius IV. , MoelcovaV. , Maelbri- gidus XXIX. , Joseph IX. , Moel-Patricius
Armagh," p. 19.
95 This is in direct opposition, likewise,
to the statements generally given, in the various Lives of St, Patrick.
106,
Col-
732 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
the ecclesiastical seat of government for all Ireland. 97 That the primatial See of Armagh could not have existed,^^ at an earlier date than 454, or 455,^9 is an opinion entertained by the BolIandists^°° and by Rev. Dr. Lanigan. ^°' Other calculations/"^ especially the placing of Trim church, as an ecclesiastical erection, twenty-five years,^°3 before the foundation of that at Armagh,^"* should bring the latter event, to either a. d. 457,'°^ or 458,^°^ as noted in an extract,^°7 from an unpublished work of Roderick 0'Flaherty,'°^ and intituled,
" Christiana. "^°9 We Ogygia
thatTirechanknew
as to the time, when Armagh had been founded, and that his reason, for specify- ing the twenty-second year prior to it, was chiefly, because such a date corre- sponded with A. D. 433. "° It is computed, by Sir James Ware, that Armagh was founded a. d. 455,"'—although he had previously noted a. d. 445"^—and
for ten governed years by
St.
something
until —became its
Patrick, Benignus bishop. Then,
5* See Ussher's
Primordia," cap. xvii. ,
Mac-jNIagnus accord.
'°* "
p. 859.
97 Giraldus Cambrensis has expressed it
"
Bap- tizatus catervatim populis, et tota jam insula ad fidem Christi conversa, apud Ardmacham sibi sedem eligit ; quam etiam quasi metro- polim constituit et proprium totius Hiberniae
locum. "
9* In blank verse does Aubrey De Vera
Ecclesiastical Plistory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , sect,
very perspicuously, in a few words :
xiii. , n. 146, p. 318.
'°' This is found, as a manuscript addition
primatias
record " St. Patrick and the Founding of
'°8 Thus, he " Ardmacha metro- writes,
Armagh Cathedral. " See
"
Legends of St.
polis A. 458, a S. Patricio fundata est ; et S. Benignus ab eo sibi substitutus immedia- tus successor,"
'°9 The Rev. Robert King notes, in his
" Memoir Introductory to the early History of the Primacy of Armagh," the foundation of this city, by St. Patrick, at A. c. 457. See p. 68.
"° Hence, Colgan has, in his " Index Chronologicus ad Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Patrick," pp. 171 to 188.
99 This computation is also that in Harris'
"" Ware,vol. i. , BishopsofArmagh, atSt.
Patrick, p. 21.
'°° See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
Februaiii xvii. Commentarius Prasvius ad
Acta S. Patricii, sect, v. , p. 523.
'°' "
See Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap. vL, sect, xiii. , p. 313. '°^ See the Sixth Life, cap. lii. , and the
Tripartite Life, lib. ii. , cap. ii.
'°3 As quoted by Ussher, Tirechan states,
nise," at A. D. 455 :
" Ardmacha extructa, et
that the church at Trim was built the
in sedem totius regni metropolitanam erecta per S. Patricium secundum S. Tirechanum. " '" See his work, on the Bishops of Ire- land, which did not appear, until the year
1665. "^
Ussher, in the Antiquities of Ireland, pub- lished A. D. 1654, cap. 29, and in his Anno- tationes ad S. Patricii Opuscula, published A. D. 1656, at p. 141.
"3 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Armagh," p. 35. Although Dr. Lanigan does not agree with Ware, as to thelatterassertion; yet,thereisnonecessity
for Harris recurring to any presumed typo- graphical error of Ware, in setting down, A. D. 455. Such supposed mistake is not marked, even in the Errata to his work.
"* tlis feast is to the 9th of No- referred,
vember.
"5 She is thus named, in the Irish Tripar*
twenty-second year—or about A. D. 433—
Following the Ulster Annals and
be- fore the foundation of that at Armagh. See
"Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 854.
'°* It may be worth observing, that even
in Jocelyn's Life of St. Patrick, and in the Third and Fourth Lives, the preaching of our Apostle in Munster is treated of many chapters, before mention is made of his foundations at Armagh, which is not spoken of until towards the close of his southern mission.
"
'"5 See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the
"
Four Masters, vol. i, pp. 142, 143. Also,
" Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," vi.
Colgan's
Martii. Vita S. Cadroe, n. 49, p. 503. The Annals of Clonmacnoise and of Senat-
may safely believe,
in 465, or in —the very year of his appointment as his English translator, Harris, states Benignus resigned the See to Iarlath. "3 These accounts lead to some confusion, in seeking to ascertain the exact date, for that impor- tant ecclesiastical foundation.
Among the favourite disciples of St. Patrick, Benignus, "• or Benen, is most particularly noticed. He seems to have been attached to the Apostle, as a constant companion. Daire's daughter, who is named Ercnait,"^ or
"
See Dr. Lanigan's
to Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," at p. 318, in a copy, once belonging to him, and now in the Dublin Society's Library.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 733
Ergnata,"^ greatly admired the personal appearance of St. Benen, and sweet to her were the charming tones of his voice, when engaged chaunting the sacred Psalms, and other Church Offices. Indeed, through their ears, did he devotionally move the souls of all hearers. A wasting disease seized upon Ergnait, so that she is said to have died of it. "7 Benen carried cretra^^^ to her from Patrick, when she suddenly arose alive, and thenceforward she
loved him spiritually. "? After a long life of religious devotion, she died, and she was buried, it is said, at Tamlaght-bo, now Tamlaght, in the parish of Eglish, and lying north-westwards from Armagh. This was the church,
whichshehadfounded. But,theO'Clerys'CalendargivesthisEargnat,^^" Virgin, as belonging to Dun-da-en,"^ in Dal-Araidhe, and now the parish of Duneane, in the county of Antrim,
One time, and apparently, when a British king's daughter"* arrived in Ireland, it is stated, that nine daughters, belonging to the king of the Longo-
bards,"^ even before the time,"9 usually assigned for their occupation of Italy. ^30 It is said, that messengers came from those virgins to St. Patrick, when they were at a place, called Ferta Minor,^3' and to know, if they should proceed to him. Then, Patrick declared to their messengers, that three of the maidens^32 should go to Heaven, and in that place, called Coll-na- ningean,^33 or " The hazel tree of the virgins. " This was near to and on the
or likewise "on a
bards,"3 Lombards, came, pilgrimage,
to St. Patrick. Ac- cording to the opinion of some writers, these adventurers issued forth from their primitive Scandinavian settlements,"^ towards the close of the fourth century. ^26 They migrated to Southern Europe. Although usually applied to Italy, yet Leatha, with ancient Irish authors, signified Letavia, or Armo- rica,"7 on the eastern coast of France. It has been thought, that Brittany or Armorica may have been known, in ancient times, as a seat of the Lom-
tite Life. Her festival is said to have fallen, on the 8th of January.
"* Her name is thus given, in the Latin
Tripartite Life.
"7 This is the account, contained in the
origin. Cluverius, in his " Germania An- tiqua," lib. iii. , cap. xxvi. , pp. I02 et seq,, denies it. About the time of Augustus and
Irish
"^ Such is the Irish Tripartite state-
ment ; but, in the Latin Tripartite, it is said, Benignus carried water, blessed by St. Patrick, and that he sprinkled it over her.
"9 The Latin Tripartite here states, this
narrative was taken from that of an old
author.
Trajan, they are discovered, for the first time, between the Elbe and the Oder. See Gibbon's " of the Decline and Fall
Tripartite
Life.
History
of the Roman Empire," vol. vii. , chap, xlii. ,
'^°
9th of November.
pp. 276, 277.
"* The Lombards, who settled in Italy,
are first mentioned by Prosper Aquitanus, Bishop of Regium, in the year 379.
"7 Sec on this subject, the Scholias of the
old commentator, on St. Fiach's Hymn, as,
also, Colgan's notes 14, 15, on the same.
"Trias Thaumaturga," pp. 4, 8. Likewise,
his note 9, to Probus, lib. i. , cap. xii,, pp.
48, 62.
See their notice of St. Benen, at the
'^'
Signifying, according to Joyce, in his "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," "the fortress of the two birds. " See part ii. , chap, ix. , p. 247.
"^ About Munessa we have already treated. However, Crumtheris may here be meant. Jocelyn calls her simply the King of Britain's daughter, and he remarks, that nine holy maidens came with her.
'^3 These are said by their historian, Paulus Diaconus, to have been so called, from the length of their beards.
"^ Such as Kranztius.
^-^ Paul Warnefrid, surnamed the Deacon, " De Gestibus Longobardorum," lib. i. ,
'=^
Colgan says, that the connection of the
and Grotius, in his Prolegomina to
*'
Longobard virgins, with the daughter of the British king, gives some countenance to this
conjecture.
'^9 It has been asserted, that the Lombards
were in Leatha, or Italy, during the time of St. Patrick.
^30 According to Baronius, they did not settle there, until A. D. 568. See Baronius'
"Annales Ecclesiastici," tomusvii. , at A. D. 568, num. i. , p. 486.
'31 According to the Fourth Life, chap. Ixxxviii. , p. 46.
'32 Colgan says, perhaps, these were the daughters of Enoch, venerated at the 9th of
His- toria Gothorum," p. 28, assigns them such
73 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
east side of Armagh. The place, called Ferta Minor, has eluded enquiry. About five miles from the city, there is an ancient burial-ground,*34 called Clonfeacle, which adjoins Blackwater Town,*3s ©n the banks of that celebrated river so denominated, in the county of Armagh. That place is traditionally held, to -have been an ancient foundation of St. Patrick. It is said to have borne the denomination of Fertamore,^36 but it hardly had been identical with Ferta Minor. The Irish Tripartite Life informs us, that the Apostle
" Let the other maidens go to Druim-fenneda,^37 and let one of them
said
proceed, so far as that hill in the east. " This mandate was duly obeyed. One of these virgins, who is called Cruimthir, or Crumtheris,'38 went, after-
:
wards, and she occupied Kenngobha,'39 or Cengoba,^^° which the Rev. Dr. Reevesexplainstobe"thehillofgrief"^^i Wearetold,thatitwasastone oratory,*42 and that some of its ruins remained. "^3 St. Patrick saw, with his own eyes, three of this holy number of virgins ascend into Heaven. '•• It is stated, that Benen used to carry fragments of food to Crumtheris every night, by orders from St. Patrick. *45 There, too, the holy bishop planted an apple-tree in Achadh-na-elti,**^ and which he took from a fort, in the north of that
whereshedwelt. it wascalled "the
Hence, Abhall-Phadruic, the orchard of Patrick," ^•z in Cengoba.
place, apple," or
Whether an identical transaction, or otherwise, Jocelyn relates a miracle, similar to that one already recorded, as having taken place at Cill-fiacla, or Kil- feacle,inthecountyofTipperary. Hetellsus,howSt. Patrickandhiscom- panions once went to a river, called Dabhall,'*^ and that, towards the close of day, they set up a tent, on a beautiful meadow, near the brink. Thither, it is said he went, to wash his hands and face in the river ; but, whether owing
to declining years, or through some other cause, a tooth being loose fell into the water. His disciples long sought for it, yet in vain. However, on the night succeeding, a very bright light shone over the water, and attracted them thither, when they found such brightness proceeded from his tooth, which was thus miraculously recovered from the river. Giving praise to God, it
The English
" the of ridge
and for which a house had been
Patrick, that used to be given to Cruim-
"
September. He adds: " Cum nome—n illud
earum patris sit Hibemis familiare. " Ibid. ,
n. 69, p. 50,
'33 From the context, in the Tripartite
Lives, this place does not seem to have been distinct from Ferta Minor.
'34 It was within the territory of Donnagh- Munter-Cullen.
'35 It lies within the parish of Clonfeacle,
in the barony of Armagh. The townland, likewise, is called Lisbotin. Both are shown, on the " Ordnance Sui-vey Townland Maps for the County of Armagh," Sheet 8.
'3* It formed a portion of the primatial lands of Armagh,
memory of the nine pilgrim virgins with Armagh-Breague, in Upper Fews. The
latter place, however, is eight or nine miles
south from Armagh. Nor can it be the
great fort of Kinnigo, which lies four miles
north, adds the writer of a note, in Miss
"
Cusack's
'•^ See Dr. Petrie's " Ecclesiastical Archi-
tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , sub-sect. 2, p. 350.
'*3 However, Dr. Reeves was unable to discover the accuracy of this statement,
'^ According to Jocelyn.
'*s According to the legend, it was the milk of the tame doe, already mentioned,
'37
the declivity. " The name seems now to be
obsolete, but it would be thoroughly ther's lap-dog.
of this
is,
built by St.
realized, in the situation of Clonfeacle.
'3^ Her name does not appear discover-
able, in any of our Calendars.
'39 So is it written, in the Latin Tripartite
Life.
'*° Thus it is written, in the Irish Tripar-
tite Life. There she built a religious estab- lishment. In Colgan, it is called a mount, and in the eastern vicinity of Armagh.
'** This place has not been identified.
'*' This place has not been discovered ; but, from the narrative, we may leam how early the cultivation of apple-trees had been in Ireland. Even to the present time, Armagh County is celebrated for its orchards and fruit.
'*® This evidently incorrect spelling is, no doubt, intended for the River Blackwater.
''The country tradition connects the
'' In June, 1879, the writer took a sketch
Life of St. Patrick," &c.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 735 was brought to St. Patrick, who built there a church/^g in which- the tooth
of
as an altar relic. '5° Hence, the —
preserved, finely-situated spot
w—as afterwards
about five miles firom the Metropolitan city Armagh got the name Clucyn-fiacal,^5i or " the meadow of the tooth," and it was a place afterwards renowned for miracles.
Clonfeacle Cemetery, County of Armagh.
One night, after prayer and vigil, when Patrick was resting his wearied limbs,
and sleeping at the fountain, called Tiprad-Cernai,'52 or Tibrad-Chema,^53 in a field of Tir-Tipraid,'54 the Angel of God came and awoke him, a little be-
"
fore daylight. Patrick said to this heavenly messenger :
wherein I have offended God, or does his anger rest upon me ? " " No," said the Angel, " and, moreover, you are informed from him, that if it be your desire,that there shall be no other share for anyone else in Erin. And, the ex- tent oiihQtermon, belonging to your See, shall reach from Droma-Bregh,^ss to
of the old graveyard, which now occupies '52 So the place is called, in the Irish Tri- its site, and which is overcrowded with partite Life.
graves. Beside it is the modern Catholic Church of Clonfeacle. The sketch in question was transferred to the wood, by William F. Wakeman, and being engraved by Mrs. Millard, it furnishes the illustration, given in the text.
'S3 It is thus written, in the Latin Tripar- tite Life.
'S'* These places do not appear to have been identified.
'5S This was a part of Breagh territory, apparently the hilly part of Bregia, in the northern part of Meath County, and adjoin-
'5° The shrine of St. Patrick's tooth is a
beautiful object of ancient art, and it was ing Cavan. See Annals of the Four
exhibited in the Royal Irish Academy, by
Museum, attached to that Institution. It
probably belonged to this place.
'5' So is the name written by Jocelyn,
who incorrectly translates it, "Ecclesia dentis. "
"
Masters," Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
the late Dr. who described it to the Stokes,
n. " Leab- (o. ) Also,
at A. D.
members. It is now preserved in the har na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (x),
513, p. 168,
pp. II, 12. Sliabh-Breagh, now Slieve Brey , in the south of Louth County, was mentioned
by the Synod of Rath-Braesail, as having been the southern boundary for the diocese of Armagh ; Cuaille Ciannacta, which is
Is there anything
736 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[March 17.
and to
"
My
honour from God, and ecclesiastical rights in the country, after I shall have departed. " This self-abnegation and charity pleased the Almighty, and his
'57
debroih, truly sons of life shall come after me, and I wish they may have
Sliabh-Mis,'s6
Bri-Airghi. "
Whereupon,
Patrick
replied :
" That is
noble, that shall be in it, must belong to you. " Full of gratitude for this
Angel said,
manifest,
and God shall
give
all Erin to
you,
while
every
" Deo
clamation. Averylegendaryandunauthenticstoryisrelated,'5Binwhich the names of Colman, son to Aldus, and grandson to Ailill, of the Ui-Bre- sail family,'59 and, also, of a sister,^^° or female relation,'^' to St. Patrick, are
promise,
gratias,"
said
Patrick, according
to his accustomed ex- pious
^^^ which is said to have nated from their familiar intimacy, there are contradictions, obscurities, or irre- concilable accounts, too evident for any serious refutation. It is stated, that
the holy bishop was highly incensed, on account of their transgression, and especially was he indignant, because his own relative had fallen into disgrace. The legend relates, that Patrick came into the church, from the eastern side, and that Lupait, or Lupita,'^3 went to meet him, until she prostrated herself before the chariot, at that place, where a cross afterwards stood, in Both- Archall. '^* " The chariot over her," cried Patrick, and it passed over her thrice, for she used still to come in front of it. '^s However, Lupait implored of Patrick, that he would not take away Heaven from Colman, with his progeny. The saint did not take it away, but he declared, they should be sickly. FromthechildrenofColman,moreover,proceededtheUi-Faelain,'^^ and the Ui-Dubhdara,'^7 as our genealogists relate.
associated. in the narrative of a But,
scandal,
origi-
now the mountain top of Coolkenagh, in the parish of Errigal-Keerogue, in the county of Tyrone, having been then, as it is now, the northern boundary.
'5* This was the well-kno\vn mountain of Slemish, in the county of Antrim.
The former obtained its name, from Bressal.
great-grandson to CoUa da Crioch, the latter from Breasal, son of Aedh Roin.
years are assigned to Benignusj the imme-
diate predecessor of larlath ; and thus
Ussher goes back to A. D. 455. Benignus is
placed after Sen-Patrick. According to the
said Catalogue, this latter prelate governed Arectactus I. , Cudiniseus IV. , Connmacus for ten years, and thus we are brought to XIV. , Torpachus I. , Nuadus III. , Mac- A. D, 445. This is then the alleged year for longsechus XIII. , Artrigius II. , Eugenius the foundation of Armagh. All this might Monaster VIIL, F. laraniianus XIV. ,
do very well, did not the catalogue mention
Secundinus, as a predecessor of Sen- Patrick,
and holding the See for fifteen years, or, as
one of Ussher'3 copies had it, for six years. I. , Cathasacius XX. , Muredacius IX. , In Colgan's edition, Secundinus ruled xvi. Dub-daletha XXXIIL, Murecanus III. ,
years. Again, prior to Secundinus, St. Moel-murius XIX. , Amalgadius XXX. ,
Patrick himself presided over that metropo- litan See. To get rid of difficulties, pointed out. Dr. Lanigan maintains,—that neither
Dub-daletha XII. , Cumascacius III. , Moel- isa XXVIL, Domnaldus. " As the Cata- logue ends, with the latter Archbishop, who
a — ruled the See from A. D. Secundinus, nor Sen-Patrick personage 1092
to 1
whose existence he otherwise admitted gan thinks it must have been compiled were ever bishops of Armagh. The imme- within these dates, since the term of his in- diate predecessor of Benignus, he considers cumbency is not completed. Nor is the
to have been the great St. Patrick himself.
Dr. Lanigan agrees with him, as to Secun- dinus, and also as to Sen- Patrick ; not,
number of St. Patrick's years of rule de- termined, and this seems to show, that four of his vicar or "assistant bishops were under him, until his death, assigned to A. D. 493. He does not know, if the omission of dates, for the incumbency of other prelates, were the choice of the writer, or an error of tran-
however, for the purpose of propping any
hypothesis, but because he thinks, there was
no such person, distinct from our great
Apostle. Notwithstanding, some writer^
have imagined, that there was a distinct scribers. The numerals affixed designate personage so called. What then becomes the years of the preceding Archbishops' of the authority of that catalogue ? Ussher
is forced to acknowledge, it is wrong from its very beginning. How then can we de-
pend on its computation for the episcopal years of St. Benignus ? It must be recol- lected, likewise, that in the said catalogue there is no reference whatever to the
government in the See. 5^SeeHarris'Ware,vol. i. , "Bishopsof
years
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," "
p. 5. Also, Nicholson's Irish Historical Library," chap, ii. , p. 14, and Harris'
Ware, vol.
i. , chap, xii. , p. 90.
ii. ,
" Writers of book Ireland,"
53 Colgan has also published it, in his ""
TriasThaumaturga, SeptimaAppendix
lanus X. , Eochodius, Senachus. Maclasrius.
Tomenius XXXV. , Seginus XXVII. , Flan- niusebhla XXVII. , Subneus XV. , Congasa- sius XX. , Kele-petrius VII. , Ferdachricius X. , Foennelachus III. , Dubhdaletha XV. ,
Diermitius IV. , Fethgna XXII. , Anmirius I. , Cathasacius IV. , MoelcovaV. , Maelbri- gidus XXIX. , Joseph IX. , Moel-Patricius
Armagh," p. 19.
95 This is in direct opposition, likewise,
to the statements generally given, in the various Lives of St, Patrick.
106,
Col-
732 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
the ecclesiastical seat of government for all Ireland. 97 That the primatial See of Armagh could not have existed,^^ at an earlier date than 454, or 455,^9 is an opinion entertained by the BolIandists^°° and by Rev. Dr. Lanigan. ^°' Other calculations/"^ especially the placing of Trim church, as an ecclesiastical erection, twenty-five years,^°3 before the foundation of that at Armagh,^"* should bring the latter event, to either a. d. 457,'°^ or 458,^°^ as noted in an extract,^°7 from an unpublished work of Roderick 0'Flaherty,'°^ and intituled,
" Christiana. "^°9 We Ogygia
thatTirechanknew
as to the time, when Armagh had been founded, and that his reason, for specify- ing the twenty-second year prior to it, was chiefly, because such a date corre- sponded with A. D. 433. "° It is computed, by Sir James Ware, that Armagh was founded a. d. 455,"'—although he had previously noted a. d. 445"^—and
for ten governed years by
St.
something
until —became its
Patrick, Benignus bishop. Then,
5* See Ussher's
Primordia," cap. xvii. ,
Mac-jNIagnus accord.
'°* "
p. 859.
97 Giraldus Cambrensis has expressed it
"
Bap- tizatus catervatim populis, et tota jam insula ad fidem Christi conversa, apud Ardmacham sibi sedem eligit ; quam etiam quasi metro- polim constituit et proprium totius Hiberniae
locum. "
9* In blank verse does Aubrey De Vera
Ecclesiastical Plistory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , sect,
very perspicuously, in a few words :
xiii. , n. 146, p. 318.
'°' This is found, as a manuscript addition
primatias
record " St. Patrick and the Founding of
'°8 Thus, he " Ardmacha metro- writes,
Armagh Cathedral. " See
"
Legends of St.
polis A. 458, a S. Patricio fundata est ; et S. Benignus ab eo sibi substitutus immedia- tus successor,"
'°9 The Rev. Robert King notes, in his
" Memoir Introductory to the early History of the Primacy of Armagh," the foundation of this city, by St. Patrick, at A. c. 457. See p. 68.
"° Hence, Colgan has, in his " Index Chronologicus ad Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Patrick," pp. 171 to 188.
99 This computation is also that in Harris'
"" Ware,vol. i. , BishopsofArmagh, atSt.
Patrick, p. 21.
'°° See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
Februaiii xvii. Commentarius Prasvius ad
Acta S. Patricii, sect, v. , p. 523.
'°' "
See Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap. vL, sect, xiii. , p. 313. '°^ See the Sixth Life, cap. lii. , and the
Tripartite Life, lib. ii. , cap. ii.
'°3 As quoted by Ussher, Tirechan states,
nise," at A. D. 455 :
" Ardmacha extructa, et
that the church at Trim was built the
in sedem totius regni metropolitanam erecta per S. Patricium secundum S. Tirechanum. " '" See his work, on the Bishops of Ire- land, which did not appear, until the year
1665. "^
Ussher, in the Antiquities of Ireland, pub- lished A. D. 1654, cap. 29, and in his Anno- tationes ad S. Patricii Opuscula, published A. D. 1656, at p. 141.
"3 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Armagh," p. 35. Although Dr. Lanigan does not agree with Ware, as to thelatterassertion; yet,thereisnonecessity
for Harris recurring to any presumed typo- graphical error of Ware, in setting down, A. D. 455. Such supposed mistake is not marked, even in the Errata to his work.
"* tlis feast is to the 9th of No- referred,
vember.
"5 She is thus named, in the Irish Tripar*
twenty-second year—or about A. D. 433—
Following the Ulster Annals and
be- fore the foundation of that at Armagh. See
"Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 854.
'°* It may be worth observing, that even
in Jocelyn's Life of St. Patrick, and in the Third and Fourth Lives, the preaching of our Apostle in Munster is treated of many chapters, before mention is made of his foundations at Armagh, which is not spoken of until towards the close of his southern mission.
"
'"5 See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the
"
Four Masters, vol. i, pp. 142, 143. Also,
" Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," vi.
Colgan's
Martii. Vita S. Cadroe, n. 49, p. 503. The Annals of Clonmacnoise and of Senat-
may safely believe,
in 465, or in —the very year of his appointment as his English translator, Harris, states Benignus resigned the See to Iarlath. "3 These accounts lead to some confusion, in seeking to ascertain the exact date, for that impor- tant ecclesiastical foundation.
Among the favourite disciples of St. Patrick, Benignus, "• or Benen, is most particularly noticed. He seems to have been attached to the Apostle, as a constant companion. Daire's daughter, who is named Ercnait,"^ or
"
See Dr. Lanigan's
to Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," at p. 318, in a copy, once belonging to him, and now in the Dublin Society's Library.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 733
Ergnata,"^ greatly admired the personal appearance of St. Benen, and sweet to her were the charming tones of his voice, when engaged chaunting the sacred Psalms, and other Church Offices. Indeed, through their ears, did he devotionally move the souls of all hearers. A wasting disease seized upon Ergnait, so that she is said to have died of it. "7 Benen carried cretra^^^ to her from Patrick, when she suddenly arose alive, and thenceforward she
loved him spiritually. "? After a long life of religious devotion, she died, and she was buried, it is said, at Tamlaght-bo, now Tamlaght, in the parish of Eglish, and lying north-westwards from Armagh. This was the church,
whichshehadfounded. But,theO'Clerys'CalendargivesthisEargnat,^^" Virgin, as belonging to Dun-da-en,"^ in Dal-Araidhe, and now the parish of Duneane, in the county of Antrim,
One time, and apparently, when a British king's daughter"* arrived in Ireland, it is stated, that nine daughters, belonging to the king of the Longo-
bards,"^ even before the time,"9 usually assigned for their occupation of Italy. ^30 It is said, that messengers came from those virgins to St. Patrick, when they were at a place, called Ferta Minor,^3' and to know, if they should proceed to him. Then, Patrick declared to their messengers, that three of the maidens^32 should go to Heaven, and in that place, called Coll-na- ningean,^33 or " The hazel tree of the virgins. " This was near to and on the
or likewise "on a
bards,"3 Lombards, came, pilgrimage,
to St. Patrick. Ac- cording to the opinion of some writers, these adventurers issued forth from their primitive Scandinavian settlements,"^ towards the close of the fourth century. ^26 They migrated to Southern Europe. Although usually applied to Italy, yet Leatha, with ancient Irish authors, signified Letavia, or Armo- rica,"7 on the eastern coast of France. It has been thought, that Brittany or Armorica may have been known, in ancient times, as a seat of the Lom-
tite Life. Her festival is said to have fallen, on the 8th of January.
"* Her name is thus given, in the Latin
Tripartite Life.
"7 This is the account, contained in the
origin. Cluverius, in his " Germania An- tiqua," lib. iii. , cap. xxvi. , pp. I02 et seq,, denies it. About the time of Augustus and
Irish
"^ Such is the Irish Tripartite state-
ment ; but, in the Latin Tripartite, it is said, Benignus carried water, blessed by St. Patrick, and that he sprinkled it over her.
"9 The Latin Tripartite here states, this
narrative was taken from that of an old
author.
Trajan, they are discovered, for the first time, between the Elbe and the Oder. See Gibbon's " of the Decline and Fall
Tripartite
Life.
History
of the Roman Empire," vol. vii. , chap, xlii. ,
'^°
9th of November.
pp. 276, 277.
"* The Lombards, who settled in Italy,
are first mentioned by Prosper Aquitanus, Bishop of Regium, in the year 379.
"7 Sec on this subject, the Scholias of the
old commentator, on St. Fiach's Hymn, as,
also, Colgan's notes 14, 15, on the same.
"Trias Thaumaturga," pp. 4, 8. Likewise,
his note 9, to Probus, lib. i. , cap. xii,, pp.
48, 62.
See their notice of St. Benen, at the
'^'
Signifying, according to Joyce, in his "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," "the fortress of the two birds. " See part ii. , chap, ix. , p. 247.
"^ About Munessa we have already treated. However, Crumtheris may here be meant. Jocelyn calls her simply the King of Britain's daughter, and he remarks, that nine holy maidens came with her.
'^3 These are said by their historian, Paulus Diaconus, to have been so called, from the length of their beards.
"^ Such as Kranztius.
^-^ Paul Warnefrid, surnamed the Deacon, " De Gestibus Longobardorum," lib. i. ,
'=^
Colgan says, that the connection of the
and Grotius, in his Prolegomina to
*'
Longobard virgins, with the daughter of the British king, gives some countenance to this
conjecture.
'^9 It has been asserted, that the Lombards
were in Leatha, or Italy, during the time of St. Patrick.
^30 According to Baronius, they did not settle there, until A. D. 568. See Baronius'
"Annales Ecclesiastici," tomusvii. , at A. D. 568, num. i. , p. 486.
'31 According to the Fourth Life, chap. Ixxxviii. , p. 46.
'32 Colgan says, perhaps, these were the daughters of Enoch, venerated at the 9th of
His- toria Gothorum," p. 28, assigns them such
73 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
east side of Armagh. The place, called Ferta Minor, has eluded enquiry. About five miles from the city, there is an ancient burial-ground,*34 called Clonfeacle, which adjoins Blackwater Town,*3s ©n the banks of that celebrated river so denominated, in the county of Armagh. That place is traditionally held, to -have been an ancient foundation of St. Patrick. It is said to have borne the denomination of Fertamore,^36 but it hardly had been identical with Ferta Minor. The Irish Tripartite Life informs us, that the Apostle
" Let the other maidens go to Druim-fenneda,^37 and let one of them
said
proceed, so far as that hill in the east. " This mandate was duly obeyed. One of these virgins, who is called Cruimthir, or Crumtheris,'38 went, after-
:
wards, and she occupied Kenngobha,'39 or Cengoba,^^° which the Rev. Dr. Reevesexplainstobe"thehillofgrief"^^i Wearetold,thatitwasastone oratory,*42 and that some of its ruins remained. "^3 St. Patrick saw, with his own eyes, three of this holy number of virgins ascend into Heaven. '•• It is stated, that Benen used to carry fragments of food to Crumtheris every night, by orders from St. Patrick. *45 There, too, the holy bishop planted an apple-tree in Achadh-na-elti,**^ and which he took from a fort, in the north of that
whereshedwelt. it wascalled "the
Hence, Abhall-Phadruic, the orchard of Patrick," ^•z in Cengoba.
place, apple," or
Whether an identical transaction, or otherwise, Jocelyn relates a miracle, similar to that one already recorded, as having taken place at Cill-fiacla, or Kil- feacle,inthecountyofTipperary. Hetellsus,howSt. Patrickandhiscom- panions once went to a river, called Dabhall,'*^ and that, towards the close of day, they set up a tent, on a beautiful meadow, near the brink. Thither, it is said he went, to wash his hands and face in the river ; but, whether owing
to declining years, or through some other cause, a tooth being loose fell into the water. His disciples long sought for it, yet in vain. However, on the night succeeding, a very bright light shone over the water, and attracted them thither, when they found such brightness proceeded from his tooth, which was thus miraculously recovered from the river. Giving praise to God, it
The English
" the of ridge
and for which a house had been
Patrick, that used to be given to Cruim-
"
September. He adds: " Cum nome—n illud
earum patris sit Hibemis familiare. " Ibid. ,
n. 69, p. 50,
'33 From the context, in the Tripartite
Lives, this place does not seem to have been distinct from Ferta Minor.
'34 It was within the territory of Donnagh- Munter-Cullen.
'35 It lies within the parish of Clonfeacle,
in the barony of Armagh. The townland, likewise, is called Lisbotin. Both are shown, on the " Ordnance Sui-vey Townland Maps for the County of Armagh," Sheet 8.
'3* It formed a portion of the primatial lands of Armagh,
memory of the nine pilgrim virgins with Armagh-Breague, in Upper Fews. The
latter place, however, is eight or nine miles
south from Armagh. Nor can it be the
great fort of Kinnigo, which lies four miles
north, adds the writer of a note, in Miss
"
Cusack's
'•^ See Dr. Petrie's " Ecclesiastical Archi-
tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , sub-sect. 2, p. 350.
'*3 However, Dr. Reeves was unable to discover the accuracy of this statement,
'^ According to Jocelyn.
'*s According to the legend, it was the milk of the tame doe, already mentioned,
'37
the declivity. " The name seems now to be
obsolete, but it would be thoroughly ther's lap-dog.
of this
is,
built by St.
realized, in the situation of Clonfeacle.
'3^ Her name does not appear discover-
able, in any of our Calendars.
'39 So is it written, in the Latin Tripartite
Life.
'*° Thus it is written, in the Irish Tripar-
tite Life. There she built a religious estab- lishment. In Colgan, it is called a mount, and in the eastern vicinity of Armagh.
'** This place has not been identified.
'*' This place has not been discovered ; but, from the narrative, we may leam how early the cultivation of apple-trees had been in Ireland. Even to the present time, Armagh County is celebrated for its orchards and fruit.
'*® This evidently incorrect spelling is, no doubt, intended for the River Blackwater.
''The country tradition connects the
'' In June, 1879, the writer took a sketch
Life of St. Patrick," &c.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 735 was brought to St. Patrick, who built there a church/^g in which- the tooth
of
as an altar relic. '5° Hence, the —
preserved, finely-situated spot
w—as afterwards
about five miles firom the Metropolitan city Armagh got the name Clucyn-fiacal,^5i or " the meadow of the tooth," and it was a place afterwards renowned for miracles.
Clonfeacle Cemetery, County of Armagh.
One night, after prayer and vigil, when Patrick was resting his wearied limbs,
and sleeping at the fountain, called Tiprad-Cernai,'52 or Tibrad-Chema,^53 in a field of Tir-Tipraid,'54 the Angel of God came and awoke him, a little be-
"
fore daylight. Patrick said to this heavenly messenger :
wherein I have offended God, or does his anger rest upon me ? " " No," said the Angel, " and, moreover, you are informed from him, that if it be your desire,that there shall be no other share for anyone else in Erin. And, the ex- tent oiihQtermon, belonging to your See, shall reach from Droma-Bregh,^ss to
of the old graveyard, which now occupies '52 So the place is called, in the Irish Tri- its site, and which is overcrowded with partite Life.
graves. Beside it is the modern Catholic Church of Clonfeacle. The sketch in question was transferred to the wood, by William F. Wakeman, and being engraved by Mrs. Millard, it furnishes the illustration, given in the text.
'S3 It is thus written, in the Latin Tripar- tite Life.
'S'* These places do not appear to have been identified.
'5S This was a part of Breagh territory, apparently the hilly part of Bregia, in the northern part of Meath County, and adjoin-
'5° The shrine of St. Patrick's tooth is a
beautiful object of ancient art, and it was ing Cavan. See Annals of the Four
exhibited in the Royal Irish Academy, by
Museum, attached to that Institution. It
probably belonged to this place.
'5' So is the name written by Jocelyn,
who incorrectly translates it, "Ecclesia dentis. "
"
Masters," Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
the late Dr. who described it to the Stokes,
n. " Leab- (o. ) Also,
at A. D.
members. It is now preserved in the har na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (x),
513, p. 168,
pp. II, 12. Sliabh-Breagh, now Slieve Brey , in the south of Louth County, was mentioned
by the Synod of Rath-Braesail, as having been the southern boundary for the diocese of Armagh ; Cuaille Ciannacta, which is
Is there anything
736 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[March 17.
and to
"
My
honour from God, and ecclesiastical rights in the country, after I shall have departed. " This self-abnegation and charity pleased the Almighty, and his
'57
debroih, truly sons of life shall come after me, and I wish they may have
Sliabh-Mis,'s6
Bri-Airghi. "
Whereupon,
Patrick
replied :
" That is
noble, that shall be in it, must belong to you. " Full of gratitude for this
Angel said,
manifest,
and God shall
give
all Erin to
you,
while
every
" Deo
clamation. Averylegendaryandunauthenticstoryisrelated,'5Binwhich the names of Colman, son to Aldus, and grandson to Ailill, of the Ui-Bre- sail family,'59 and, also, of a sister,^^° or female relation,'^' to St. Patrick, are
promise,
gratias,"
said
Patrick, according
to his accustomed ex- pious
^^^ which is said to have nated from their familiar intimacy, there are contradictions, obscurities, or irre- concilable accounts, too evident for any serious refutation. It is stated, that
the holy bishop was highly incensed, on account of their transgression, and especially was he indignant, because his own relative had fallen into disgrace. The legend relates, that Patrick came into the church, from the eastern side, and that Lupait, or Lupita,'^3 went to meet him, until she prostrated herself before the chariot, at that place, where a cross afterwards stood, in Both- Archall. '^* " The chariot over her," cried Patrick, and it passed over her thrice, for she used still to come in front of it. '^s However, Lupait implored of Patrick, that he would not take away Heaven from Colman, with his progeny. The saint did not take it away, but he declared, they should be sickly. FromthechildrenofColman,moreover,proceededtheUi-Faelain,'^^ and the Ui-Dubhdara,'^7 as our genealogists relate.
associated. in the narrative of a But,
scandal,
origi-
now the mountain top of Coolkenagh, in the parish of Errigal-Keerogue, in the county of Tyrone, having been then, as it is now, the northern boundary.
'5* This was the well-kno\vn mountain of Slemish, in the county of Antrim.
The former obtained its name, from Bressal.
great-grandson to CoUa da Crioch, the latter from Breasal, son of Aedh Roin.
